


Unexpected

by LeoAries



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Melendaire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23471404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeoAries/pseuds/LeoAries
Summary: Claire and Melendez get an unexpected, but happy, surprise in their relationship after Claire takes a rather important test. Post 3x20.
Relationships: Claire Browne/Neil Melendez
Comments: 14
Kudos: 112





	Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> “You are the love that came without warning. You had my heart before I could say no.”

5 days.

It had been 5 days since her period was due, and Claire told herself that 5 days wasn’t that long at all. It was far more practical for a woman to be delayed over a week, maybe even two weeks, before even considering a test. So she went through her hours at the hospital, her feet sore, with small aches in her lower back that she hoped were simply menstrual cramps. It’s fine, she told herself. It’ll come soon enough.

And it was easy to distract herself — patients needed care, paperwork needed to be filed, and she was so exhausted by the time she found sleep there was nowhere for her mind to wander.

Until she bit the bullet and decided she’d rather know as soon as possible rather than delay the inevitable. After all, if the test was positive, it was going to be something she’d have to deal with whether or not she tested at all. So after her shift, when the time on her clock read 12:03AM, she didn’t crawl into bed. She instead placed the little white stick on her bathroom sink and set a timer on her phone for several minutes.

She used her waiting period to dress in something more comfortable, a pair of tight yoga pants and a gray workout shirt that Neil had left. She liked the way it smelled like him even after several rounds in the wash, like the fabric loved to cling to his body the same way she did. She didn’t consider texting him or calling him, even though her fingers itched to do so. They more often than not spent their nights together, wrapping up with tangled limbs before duty called them both to the hospital. Things were still pretty much on the down low as far as their relationship went. Ever since his near-death scare, she’d taken less consideration for what anyone else might think. Yet Neil still wanted to respect boundaries, and assured her that it wasn’t sneaking around if they planned to come clean. In fact, they were going to make things official in a few weeks. 

So while at the hospital they played it professional, it only inspired them to press feverish and urgent kisses against each other as though they could not get enough while they were off work. The feeling of his rough, sometimes dry, surgeon’s hands on her skin made her shiver in pleasure. His soft, dark hair between her fingertips while he pressed his lips against her stomach, her hips, and her inner thighs was not only a memory — but a routine, something that happened often. As they fell deeper and further in love, nearly inseparable, it became agony to have to hide it from the other people that she trusted and cared about. Yet even on her worst days at the hospital, there was no better remedy for her sorrow or her stress than seeing him waiting for her at her apartment. Sometimes he didn’t even have to say anything, instead opening his arms to her so she could finally fall into his safety and warmth.

As she stared into the bathroom from the edge of her bed, she wondered what he might think or say if it was positive. She did not know if he’d want to keep it, though she suspected he might. They never considered such a thing. Everything was so focused on them and their relationship, their next steps, something like children was more far-fetched. Claire wanted children, but again, in the same way everyone kind of wanted them: in the distant future, a hazy possibility that you sometimes weren’t 100% certain would even happen but made some room in your brain for the possibilities of. What would she do now if that test on her sink had two lines, and not just one?

Her hands began to tremble. This was worse than any pre-surgery jitters she had ever had. This was worse than the first time Neil slowly unclothed her and she found herself naked and exposed underneath him, wondering briefly if he liked what he saw. If she was enough. 

Claire took a deep breath and then flinched when her phone began to buzz. It was time. God — it was time. She had to walk into the bathroom, look at the result, and prepare herself. Her life was either about to change or very much stay the same. But there was nothing else she could do now. She already did the first part of the test, now it was time to read the results. Putting on her brave face, Claire slowly entered the bathroom and ignored her reflection in the vanity mirror. Instead she picked up the small, damp stick and read the result that it read. 

Around two hours later, Neil went to her place and used the spare key. What shocked him was that he found her curled up on the sofa, a soft blanket thrown around herself, and a warm cup of tea placed in her hands. She was awake and as beautiful as ever, with her hair let down completely so it fell in those tight, spiral curls. Her eyes were rimmed with red and her face was a bit flush, so he blinked away his own tiredness and set down his briefcase.

“You’re awake. Is everything alright?” He asked quickly.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” She smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “How are you?”

“Tired. But I don’t always have the pleasure of coming home to a gorgeous, very awake woman.” He teased, tossing his coat over the couch and leaning down to kiss her. She placed her mug on the coffee table and opened her arms for him to sit next to her. He obliged and felt her cuddle into him, half of the blanket already spilling over his lap. “You seem upset. Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

Claire sighed, and that was when Neil realized that her hands were trembling. Immediately he thought of the worst: she wanted out, she was tired of hiding their relationship, she did not want him there. They had been together for several months now, and she seemed happy. 

“Claire,” he pulled back to find her eyes. “Tell me.”

“Okay…” she looked away at once. “Well.. I haven’t been feeling the best the past few days. And I thought…well, I wanted to be sure, you know, it wasn’t anything more serious.” Neil waited patiently for her to continue, wondering where on Earth she was going with such talk. Did she think she was sick? “And so I was…remembering..how much time we’ve spent together lately. And I wondered whether or not I might be…pregnant.”

The word was heavy. It felt like a slap when she said it, a word that she shouldn’t be saying at all. But Neil did not change in the slightest, his eyebrows merely raised and if anything he seemed amused. His lips twitched and he smirked. “Is that it? I’m sure it’s nothing. We’ve been careful. How late are you?”

“5 days.”

“That’s not exactly late-late. You should really wait for at least 7 days. I wouldn’t worry, Claire.” He pressed his lips to her hair and pulled her close, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. He watched the small steam radiate off of her tea as it sat idle without her. “You could take a test but, for the best accuracy you’ll probably want to take it in the morning. Or just run your bloodwork at the hospital.”

Claire tilted her head away. “Oh, I’d say it can be pretty accurate.” She pulled forward and turned to face him, the blanket falling from her shoulders. Her eyes were cautious, soft, perhaps even fearful. And Neil knew before she even had to say it. He knew her better than anyone, and the way her lips pursed and her hands wrung told him all that he needed to know about where she was going with this all along. Yet as she murmured, “I took a test when I came home. I’m…I’m pregnant, Neil.”

He stared at her, his own brow creased. Then, he inhaled sharply, shaking his head slightly. And much to Claire’s own relief, he smiled. He actually smiled — his grin enough to send her soaring, because she had not known how he would react, and this was infinitely better than walking out on her in a fit of rage as though she might have betrayed him. As though she were now a problem. “I…. Well you can’t be more than…four or five weeks along. I….you are serious?”

“Yes,” she closed her eyes. “Yes, I’m serious. Please don’t be angry with me. I know this isn’t in the plan, and I know we have an infinite number of things to worry about right now, and I know that you are probably already wondering how this is going to affect things at the hospital—“

He reached out to capture her hands, pressing a kiss to her knuckles and keeping her gaze. His voice was soft and tender when he spoke. “Claire…I’m not mad. It’s unexpected but…I’m going to be here for you. And for this baby. I love you. More than anything else. You know that, don’t you?”

Her eyes welled with tears as she looked at him. This man…he was going to save her, again and again. And suddenly she felt a fire within her, swallowing her heart completely. A baby. Her and Neil’s child — with light brown skin and perhaps dark eyes like his. A boy or a girl. They would be a family. As he held her hands and pressed another breathless, happy kiss against her knuckles and then her own lips, she felt herself melt into him completely. Their exhaustion was evident, but so was their joyous relief. They had almost lost each other and now they had a real future. He made her feel like she could really do this, and they could overcome anything together. All that mattered was each other.

“I love you,” she cried. His hand slid from her face down to her chest and then to her belly. Neil’s bright eyes found hers and she choked back a sob, already overcome with an overwhelming amount of love and happiness. “A baby. I…I still can’t believe it.”

“It’s going to be okay, Claire.” He promised with a laugh and leaned in to capture her lips once more. Then he reached for the mug of tea and pressed it back into her hands. “Now finish your tea before it gets cold. I’m going to go change.”

Claire took her mug and watched him walk away from her, his face a clouded mess of happiness itself. She stared at the back of the man she loved. Her mentor. Her best friend. Her protector. Her savior. And even though things were unexpected, uncertain, and perhaps even a bit scandalous — she wanted nothing more than to be with him forever, and suddenly the future looked far brighter than it ever had before. A smile spread across her face and she sipped her tea, content for now with her new beginnings.


End file.
